Eddie Oppong is a Ghanaian-American Creative Director and multidimensional creator based in Chicago, USA.
Eddie uses fashion and capsule collections, to tell stories about his personal life.
He has close to a decade of experience as a Creative Director and has designed independently about 8 sneaker projects.
From his first project, he focused on his struggle with kidney disease and his most recent collection, which was dedicated to his Ghanaian heritage.
The Chicago-based designer also owns the clothing brand, ‘Ye Wo Krom’ which is a driven street wear that takes inspiration from Ghanaian Culture.
According to him, he channels his gift of storytelling into every collection he designs.
Here is our interaction with him about his work.
GAJ: Have you always wanted to be a designer?
EDDIE: I’ve always found fashion to be something dear to me. It’s interesting how pieces of clothing or even sneakers can tell a story without using words, expressing ourselves through the garments chosen.
With that being said, I always wanted to combine my love for fashion and storytelling as a writer, which brought me here as a designer telling stories through capsule collections.
GAJ: How do you get artistic inspiration?
EDDIE: The cliché response is to say I’m inspired by everything, which I essentially am.
But particularly and personally, my inspiration comes from my experiences through life, the individuals in my close circle, pop art of the 80s, Ghanaian Culture history, and stories not being told loud enough.
GAJ: Tell us about projects you have worked on and brands or organizations you have worked with.
EDDIE: I’ve designed nearly 8 shoe projects, independently. Each collection tells a different story that is in some way relatable to us. From designing a shoe dedicated to fighting anxiety and depression, to a shoe dedicated to my homeland Ghana.
GAJ: We have seen some of your designs for the annual Arts & Culture Festival GhanaFest, tell us about it.
EDDIE: The conversation of designing for the GhanaFest was in talks for months on end before an actual decision was made. But when this idea came about, I wanted it to be a moment in time to be remembered.
I want to take from the new and old alike. In doing so, I incorporated not only myself but my brand Ye Wo Krom. Simply rephrasing it… YE WO GHANAFEST.
GAJ: Do you have any intention of setting up a brand in Ghana?
EDDIE: At the moment not officially but not completely opposed to it.
Ye Wo Krom is a Ghanaian Culture driven street-wear brand that identifies with everything being Ghanaian as a whole.
So even if we don’t set up shop in Ghana, our presence will be there without a doubt through projects and many other upcoming components.
Eddie is a talented creator who hopes to expand the audience for his brand with his timeless Ghanaian pieces.
A portion of the proceeds from his designs for GhanaFest will go back to the Ghanaian community to help bridge the gap between culture and creativity.
Official merchandising can be purchased at www.eddieoppong.com and www.yewokrom.com
